'Then by her husband!' 'Thus said Samuel,' said he, 'One must not enquire after a woman's welfare at all.'

His wife sent [word] to him, 'Settle his case for him, lest he make you like any ignoramus!' 'What means your traveling hither? ' he asked him.'

You sent me a writ of summons,' he replied.'

Seeing that I do not even know your way of speech,' he exclaimed: 'would I send you a writ of summons!' Thereupon he drew out the summons from his bosom and shewed [it] to him: 'Behold the man and behold the summons!' he said.'

Yet since you have come here.'

he said: 'let us discuss the matter, that it may not be said that the Rabbis shew favour to each other.'

Then he asked him, 'Why did you place that man under the ban? ' 'Because he abused the Rabbis' messenger.'

'Then you should have punished him [by stripes], for Rab punished [with stripes] him who abused a messenger of the Rabbis.'

- 'I dealt with him more severely.'(1) 'Why did you have it proclaimed that he is a slave? ' He answered: 'Because he was wont to call [other] people slaves, and he who declares [others] unfit is [himself] unfit, and never speaks good [of anyone]; and Samuel said: With his own blemish he stigmatizes [others] as unfit.'

'But how did Samuel say this: only that one must suspect; yet did he say that he is to be [thus] proclaimed? ' At this stage his opponent said to Rab Judah, 'You call me a slave, - I who am descended from the royal house of the Hasmoneans!' - 'Thus said Samuel,' he retorted: 'Whoever says: "I am descended from the house of the Hasmoneans is a slave.'(2) Said he(3) to him, 'Do you not agree with what was said by R`Abba in the name of R`Huna in Rab's name: Every scholar who proceeds to give a ruling:(4) if he has stated it before the event, he i heeded; if not, he is not heeded? '(5) - 'But there is R`Mattenah who supports me,' he replied.

Now, R`Mattenah had not seen Nehardea for thirteen years, but on that day he visited it.

Said he(6) to him, 'Do you remember what Samuel said when he stood with one foot on the bank and one foot on the bridge? '(7) - 'Thus said Samuel', he replied: 'He who claims, "I am descended from the royal house of the Hasmoneans", is a slave, because there remained of them only one maiden who ascended a roof, lifted up her voice and cried out', "Whoever says I am descended from the house of the Hasmoneans is a slave"; then she fell from the roof and died.'

So he(8) was proclaimed a slave.

On that day many kethuboth were torn up in Nehardea.(9)

When he [Rab Judah] issued, they came out after him to stone him.(10)

[But] he threatened them, 'If you will be silent, be silent; if not, I will disclose against you what Samuel said: There are two families in Nehardea, one called The House of Jonah [dove] and the other, The House of 'Urbathi [raven-like]; and the sign thereof is, The unclean is unclean and the clean clean.'(11) Thereupon they threw away the stones out of their hands, which created a stoppage in the royal canal.(12)

[At that time] Rab Judah announced in Pumbeditha: Adda and Jonathan are slaves; Judah B`Papa is mamzer: Bati B`Tobiah in his arrogance refused to accept a deed of manumission.

Raba proclaimed in Mahuza:(13) The members of Bela, Dena, Tela, Mela and Zega(14) - all these are unfit.

Rab Judah said: The members of Guba are Gibeonites; Durnunitha(15) is a village of Nethinim.(16)

R`Joseph said: This Be Kubi [in the Vicinity] of Pumbeditha consists entirely of slaves.(17)

Rab Judah said in Samuel's name: Pashur son of Immer(18) had four hundred slaves - others say, four thousand slaves - and all became mixed up in the priesthood, and every priest who displays impudence is [descended] from none but them.

Said Abaye: And they all dwell in the Wall(19) of Nehardea.(20)

Now he [Rab Judah] differs from R`Eleazar.

For R`Eleazar said: If you see a priest with brazen forehead, have no suspicions of him,(21) for it is said: Thy people are as the quarrelsome among priests.(22)

R`Abin B`R`Adda said in Rab's name: Whoever takes a wife who is not fit for him,(23) when the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His divine Presence to rest [on Israel], He testifies concerning all the tribes [that they are His people],(24) but does not testify unto him, for it is said: The tribes of the Lord are a testimony unto Israel:(25) when is it 'a testimony unto Israel'?

When the tribes are 'tribes of the Lord'.(26)

R`Hama B`R`Hanina said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His divine Presence to rest, it is only upon families of pure birth in Israel, for it is said: At that time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel(27) - not unto all Israel, but unto 'all the families of Israel', is said(28) - and they shall be my people.

Rabbah son of R`Huna said: This is the extra advantage which Israel possesses over proselytes.(29)

For in respect to Israel it written, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people;(30) whereas of proselytes it is written, for who is he that hath boldness to approach unto me?

Saith the Lord.

And ye shall be my people', and I will be your God.(31)

R`Helbo said: Proselytes are as injurious to Israel as a scab, for it is said: And the stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave [we-nispehu] to the house of Jacob.(32)

Here it is written: 'wenispehu'; whilst elsewhere it is written.

[This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy.] and for rising, or for a scab [sappahath].(33)

R`Hama B`Hanina said: When the Holy One, blessed be He,

(1) Tosaf. in Yeb. 52a suggests that the reason was because he had insulted the Rabbi himself.

(2) Because the dynasty was wiped out by Herod, who, in spite of ascending the throne, was always regarded by the Jew's as an Idumean slave. He, to exalt his children, called them Hasmoneans, v. B.B. 3b.

(3) Probably R. Nahman.

(4) In his teacher's name.

(5) I.e., when he gives a traditional ruling bearing on his own case, he is believed only if he had stated it before the same arose.

(6) Rab Judah.

(7) Or 'on the ferry-boat'.

(8) Rab Judah's litigant.

(9) Of women who belonged to that family, and accordingly bore the status of slaves, so that their marriage was invalid.

(10) For revealing their inferiority.

(11) The dove is a clean bird (i.e., fit for food) ; the raven is unclean. The House of Jonah is of pure descent; the other is not. Descendants of the two families were probably widespread in Nehardea, but their origin was forgotten: hence the threat.

(12) So many were there.

(13) On the Tigris, not far from Ktesifon; it is discussed at great length in Obermeyer, pp. 161-186.

(14) These are either places or family names. Probably they are contemptuous nicknames, which may mean, old rags, barrels, patches, stuffings and grape skins.

(15) The name of a place.

(16) From which it derives its name, 'dura' _ village, so Rashi, according to cur. ed. 'Nethinim villagers'.

(17) Who had intermingled with the populace, though they had never been formally manumitted.

(18) A priestly contemporary of Jeremiah who had him put in the stocks because of his dire prophecies of national disaster; (Jer. XX 1-6) .

(31) Jer. XXX, 21f; i.e., they must first call upon God, Who willingly accepts them. There is no spirit of exclusiveness in this: God first appeared unto Israel; thereafter, He is ready to accept all who call upon Him.

(32) Isa. XIV, 1.

(33) Lev. XIV, 55. We-nispehu is thus connected with sappahath, and the former verse is translated: and they shall be as a scab to the house of Jacob. - Rashi states: because their lax observance of precepts sets a bad example to true born Jews. Tosaf. suggests the reverse: proselytes are more observant, and expose the laxity of other Jews! Cf. infra p. 387.